Flak tower

Flak towers (German: "Flaktürme") were large anti-aircraft gun blockhouses used by the Luftwaffe to prevent overflights of key areas in certain cities in World War II. They also served as air-raid shelters for tens of thousands of people and to coordinate air defence. With concrete walls up to 3.5 metres thick, these towers were considered to be invulnerable to attack with the usual ordinance carried by Allied bombers, though it is unlikely that they would have withstood Grand Slam bombs which successfully penetrated much thicker reinforced concrete. Aircraft generally appeared to have avoided the flak towers.

The Soviets, in assaulting Berlin, found it hard to make an impression on the Flak towers, even with some of the largest Soviet assault guns, the 203 mm howitzers. Soviet forces generally manoeuvered around them, and eventually sent in envoys to seek their submission. Unlike the rest of Berlin, the towers tended to be stocked with ammunition, and used their anti-aircraft 20 mm cannons to attack ground units. The Zoo Tower was one of the last points of defence, with German armoured units rallying near it at Tiergarten, before trying to break out of the encircling Soviet Red Army.

The towers, during the fall of Berlin, formed their own communities. Being some of the safest places in the fought-over city, they were usually crammed with civilians, eventually forcing them to capitulate as supplies ran out.

For a time after the war, the conversion to representative objects with decorated facades was planned. After the war was lost, the demolition of the towers was in most cases infeasible and many remain to this day.

Flak Tower generations

Each Flak tower complex consisted of:

*a G-Tower (German: "Gefechtsturm") or Combat Tower, also known as the Gun Tower, Battery Tower or Large Flak Tower, and
*a L-Tower (German: Leitturm) or Lead Tower also known as the Fire-control tower, command tower, listening bunker or small flak tower.

*Generation 1
**G-Towers were 70.5 × 70.5 × 39 m, usually armed with eight (four twin) 128 mm guns and numerous 37 mm and thirty-two (eight quad) 20 mm guns.
**L-Towers were 50 × 23 × 39 m, usually armed with sixteen (four quad) 20 mm guns.
*Generation 2
**G-Towers were 57 × 57 × 41.6 m, usually armed with eight (four twin) 128 mm guns and sixteen (four quad) 20 mm guns.
**L-Towers were 50 × 23 × 44 m, usually armed with forty (ten quad) 20 mm guns.
*Generation 3
**G-Towers were 43 × 43 × 54 m, usually armed with eight (four twin) 128 mm guns and thirty-two (eight quad) 20 mm guns.

The evaluation of even larger Battery Towers was commissioned by Adolf Hitler. These would have been three times the size and firepower of Flak towers.

Built towers

Flakturm I - Berliner Zoo, Berlin

* Berlin Zoo (1st Generation)
** G-Tower was demolished by the British at the end of the war. coord|52.509122|N|13.336726|E|
** L-Tower was demolished after the war. coord|52.510251|N|13.336583|E|

Flakturm II - Friedrichshain, Berlin

* Friedrichshain (1st Generation)
** G-Tower was partially demolished after the war; one side remains visible. coord|52.526522|N|13.431886|E|
** L-Tower was demolished after the war. coord|52.527884|N|13.438582|E|

The G-Tower, known as "Mont Klamott" (Rubble Mountain) in Berlin, was the inspiration for songs by singer-songwriter Wolf Biermann and the rock band Silly.

Flakturm III - Humboldthain, Berlin

* Humboldthain (1st Generation)
** G-Tower was partially demolished after the war; one side remains visible. The interior can be visited. coord|52.547238|N|13.384961|E|
** L-Tower was partially demolished after the war; some walls remain visible. coord|52.544092|N|13.387326|E|

Flakturm IV - Heiligengeistfeld, Hamburg

* Heiligengeistfeld (1st Generation)
** G-Tower was transformed into a residential building, coord|53.556212|N|9.970104|E|.
** L-Tower was demolished after the war. coord|53.55285|N|9.967314|E|.

Flakturm V - Wilhelmsburg, Hamburg

* Wilhelmsburg (2nd Generation)
** G-Tower remains to this day, coord|53.51006|N|9.98993|E|
** L-Tower was demolished after the war.

Flakturm VI - Stiftskaserne, Vienna

* Stiftskaserne (3rd Generation)
** G-Tower is located within a military base of the Austrian Army. coord|48.201734|N|16.355853|E|
** L-Tower (in Esterhazypark) is used as an aquarium (the [http://www.haus-des-meeres.at/ "Haus des Meeres"] ) and has a climbing wall on the outside. coord|48.197719|N|16.352495|E|

Flakturm VII - Augarten, Vienna

* Augarten (3rd Generation)
** G-Tower remains empty. The entire north-east and half of the east machine gun platforms have been removed during 2007 including the connecting walkways due to deterioration. The tower itself has been reinforced with steel cables encircling the entire structure, 12 cables are located above the machine gun nests, 6 just below, and an additional 4 midway up the tower. The tower is home to thousands of pigeons which nest on every platform and opening. The west side of the structure is also used as a cellular communications tower. coord|48.22563|N|16.372815|E|
** L-Tower remains empty. Its use as a computer storage facility or an open air cinema is being considered, , coord|48.227896|N|16.377992|E|

Flakturm VIII - Arenberg Park, Vienna

* Arenberg Park (2nd Generation) coord|48.198448|N|16.391489|E|
** G-Tower is used as a storehouse for art.
** L-Tower remains empty.

Planned, not built

Berlin

* Tiergarten (two additional planned, not built)
* Hasenheide Templehof (planned, not built)
* Reichstag building (considered for modification, but found unsuitable)

Bremen

* Bremen Neustadt Contrescarpe (two planned, none built) coord|53.078585|N|8.805799|E|

Hamburg

* East Hamburg (planned, not built)

Munich

* Munich Railroad Station (eight planned, none built)

Vienna

* Original plans were to place the three towers in Schmelz, Prater & Floridsdorf.

Flak Guns

* 37mm Flak 43
* 2 cm Gebirgsflak 38
* 12.8 cm Flak 40

ee also

* Anti-aircraft warfare
* Battle of Berlin (air)
* Battle of Berlin
* Kammhuber Line
* List of World War II weapons of Germany
* Nazi architecture
* Maunsell Sea Forts

Further reading

* Foedrowitz, Michael. (1998). "The Flak Towers in Berlin, Hamburg and Vienna 1940-1950". Schiffer Publishing. ISBN 0-7643-0398-8
* Ute Bauer "Die Wiener Flakturme im Spiegel Oesterreichischer Erinnerungskultur", Phoibos Verlag, Wien 2003. ISBN 3-901232-42-7

External links

* [http://www.hojobeck.de/ Several photos of the towers and bunkers] de icon
* [http://www.berliner-unterwelten.de/012/b/dat_literatur/content.htm List of books about flak towers and bunkers] de icon
* [http://www.airpower.at/news03/0813_luftkrieg_ostmark/flaktuerme.htm Page about the Vienna flak towers] de icon